Weight-based chute control for a farm implement

ABSTRACT

A system and method for discharging material from a chute on a farm implement into a container or bin such that the discharged material is evenly distributed in the container or bin. The system and method includes a farm implement with a bin for holding material, a conveyor for discharging material from the bin and a chute at the end of the conveyor for directing the material discharged from the conveyor. The chute may be moved into a plurality of positions based on sensor outputs to facilitate the even distribution of material in the container or bin receiving the discharged material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 14/213,095,filed Mar. 14, 2014, which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/799,099, filed Mar. 15, 2013, and U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/821,552, filed May 9, 2013, the entire disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to systems and methods forunloading agricultural material from a farm implement, such as a graincart, into a bin or container.

2. Description of the Related Art

Farm implements with storage bins configured to transport grain or seedand load containers or bins with the transported material, such as graincarts, typically include a conveyor with a chute at the discharge end.The auger or conveyor is positioned on the grain cart such that it maybe used to discharge material into a container or bin next to the graincart. The chute is typically fixed in a downward facing position so thatthe material discharged from the auger or conveyor is directeddownwardly into the bin or container. The problem with this system isthat all of the discharged material is directed to the same location inthe bin or container, which may cause the material in the bin to beunevenly distributed. The uneven distribution of material can put unduestrain on the frame of the container or semi-trailer in which it isloaded, cause overflow of material prior to using the full capacity ofthe grain cart and/or container and increase likelihood of roll over.Also, the uneven distribution of material can cause overloading ofcontainer and/or uneven loading of the axles, which may cause stress onroadways or weight tickets from the Department of Transportation. Tochange the position the material is discharged, the vehicle towing theimplement, such as a tractor, must continually move forward in shortintervals. Repositioning the grain cart and tractor relative to thestorage bin wastes time and fuel. This constant starting and stoppingputs a large amount of wear and tear on the clutch of the vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, an apparatusfor conveying material into a container comprises a conveyor including afirst end configured to receive material and a second end configured todischarge material and a chute including a first end pivotably coupledto the second end of the conveyor for rotation about a first axis ofrotation and a second end configured to discharge material. The chute ispivotable relative to the second end of the conveyor about a first axisof rotation and the second end of the chute (an opening) is oriented todischarge at an angle relative to the axis of rotation such that thesecond end of the chute is moveable in a first plane. The second end ofthe chute may be oriented to discharge at an angle between 0 and 90degrees relative to the axis of rotation.

In another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus also includesa first cylinder configured to pivot the chute about the first axis ofrotation.

In another aspect of the present invention, the first axis isapproximately parallel to a longitudinal axis of the conveyor.

In another aspect of the present invention, the first end of the chuteis pivotable relative to the second end of the conveyor about a secondaxis of rotation such that the second end of the chute is moveable in asecond plane. The first axis of rotation may be approximately orthogonalto the second axis of rotation, and the first plane may be approximatelyorthogonal to the second plane.

In another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus includes asecond cylinder configured to pivot the chute about the second axis ofrotation.

In another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus also includesa scale configured to measure the amount of material discharged by theapparatus and a controller configured to pivot the chute about the firstaxis of rotation when a target amount of material has been discharged.The target amount of material may be a pre-determined amount of materialand the apparatus includes an input for an operator to enter thepre-determined amount.

In another aspect of the present invention, the first end of the chuteis pivotable relative to the second end of the conveyor relative to asecond axis of rotation such that the second end of the chute ismoveable in a second plane, and wherein the controller is configured topivot the chute about the second axis of rotation when a second targetamount of material has been discharged.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method for dischargingmaterial evenly in a container comprises the steps of dischargingmaterial from a chute and positioning a chute such that the material isdischarged in a first direction into a container. The method alsoincludes the steps of measuring an amount of material discharged fromthe chute and, when a target amount of material has been discharged fromthe chute, positioning the chute such that the material is discharged ina second direction into the container.

In another aspect of the present invention, the step of positioning thechute such that the material is discharged in a second directioncomprises pivoting the chute about a first axis of rotation.

In another aspect of the present invention, the method further comprisesthe step of pivoting the chute about a second axis of rotation when asecond target amount of material has been discharged from the chute suchthat the material is discharged from the chute in a direction differentthan the first or second direction.

In another aspect of the present invention, the method further comprisesthe step of stopping the chute from discharging material when a thirdtarget amount of material has been discharged. The step of stopping thechute from discharging may include shutting the container door to stopthe flow of grain from the grain cart bin to the conveyor.

In another aspect of the present invention, the method further comprisesthe steps of providing a cylinder coupled to the chute and adjusting thelength of the cylinder to pivot the chute about the first axis ofrotation.

In another aspect of the present invention, the method further comprisesthe steps of providing a second cylinder coupled the chute and adjustingthe length of the second cylinder to pivot the chute about the secondaxis of rotation.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method of creating anautomatic chute unload routine for a mobile farm implement including abin to store material and a chute moveable between a plurality ofpositions and configured to discharge material stored in the bincomprises the steps of recording a first position of the chute and aweight of the material stored in the bin and discharging material fromthe bin out of the chute. The method also includes the steps ofmonitoring weight of the bin and determining a first amount of materialdischarged from the bin and, when the chute is moved to a secondposition, recording the second position and the first amount of materialdischarged from the bin. The method further includes the steps ofmonitoring the weight of the bin and determining a second amount ofmaterial discharged from the bin and, when material stops beingdischarged from the chute, recording the second amount of materialdischarged from the bin.

In another aspect of the present invention, the method also comprisesthe steps of, when the chute is moved to a third position, recording thethird position and the second amount of material discharged from thebin. The method further comprises the steps of monitoring the weight ofthe bin and determining a third amount of material discharged from thebin, and, when material stops being discharged from the chute, recordingthe third amount of material discharged from the bin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method of controlling the positionof a chute discharging material into a container according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is top view of a grain cart positioned to discharge material intoa first bin showing first and second positions of a chute according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a grain cart including a chute in a firstposition to discharge material into a second bin according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a grain cart including a chute in a secondposition to discharge material into a second bin according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a grain cart including a chute overlayed in afirst position and a second position and positioned to dischargematerial into a bin according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a grain cart including a chute overlayed in afirst position and a third position and positioned to discharge materialinto a bin according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a grain cart including a chute in a firstposition and positioned to discharge material into a bin according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a grain cart including a chute in a thirdposition and positioned to discharge material into a bin according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic of a controller for a grain cart in which theposition of a chute is controlled based on weight according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic of a controller in communication with a graincart and a vehicle towing the grain cart according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method of controlling theposition of a chute discharging material into a container according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating a learn function for a weight-basedchute control according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the present invention may be embodied in many different forms, anumber of illustrative embodiments are described herein with theunderstanding that the present disclosure is to be considered asproviding examples and not intended to limit the invention to thepreferred embodiments described and/or illustrated herein.

The present invention is directed to an automated method and system ofunloading material from a farm implement having a conveyor, such as agrain cart or seed tender, by controlling the position of a chute at theend of a conveyor discharging material from the implement into a hopper,container, or bin next to the implement. The method includes monitoringthe weight of material discharged from the implement and adjusting theposition of the chute when target weights are reached. While the presentinvention is described herein with reference to a grain cart having aauger type conveyor with a chute at a discharge end, it may be used onany type of farm implement having a conveyor with a chute or spout,including without limitation auger, belt, or pneumatic conveyors.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method 100 of unloadingagricultural material or product from a farm implement via a conveyor bycontrolling the position of a chute on the conveyor that dischargesmaterial into a container or hopper next to the implement according toan embodiment of the present invention. The first step 102 ispositioning the conveyor of the implement (e.g., a cart, such as a graincart) in the center of a first hopper length-wise. If the conveyor isfoldable, the conveyor should be unfolded into its discharge positionrelative to the farm implement so that the chute is positioned over thehopper. In the case of a grain cart, the conveyor may be positioned bytowing the grain cart with a tractor. After the positioning step 102,the chute of the conveyor is moved into a first position in step 104 inwhich the chute opening or discharge is oriented toward a rear of thehopper and the discharge of material from the chute is commenced. In oneembodiment, step 104 is performed by rotating the chute about a firstaxis of rotation extending along a longitudinal axis of the chute andparallel to or offset from the longitudinal axis of the conveyor. Theweight of the material discharged is monitored in step 106. Thismonitoring step may be accomplished by monitoring the weight of thematerial stored in the bin of the grain cart and equating the amount ofmaterial discharged with the loss of weight in the bin. The weight maybe monitored with a weight monitoring system, such as the systemdisclosed in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,205,490, the entire contentsof which is incorporated herein by reference.

As the weight of material discharged is monitored, a determination ismade whether a target weight has been reached at step 108, and, if ithas not been reached, the position of the chute will be maintained andthe weight of material discharged will continue to be monitored. If itis determined that the target weight has been reached at step 108, theposition of the chute will be changed at step 110 to the next position,e.g., to a second position oriented toward a front of the hopper if thechute was in a first position, or to a third position if the chute wasin a second position. In one embodiment, changing to the second positionin step 110 is performed by rotating the chute about a first axis ofrotation extending along a longitudinal axis of the chute and parallelto or offset from the longitudinal axis of the conveyor. In anembodiment, changing to the third position in step 110 is performed byrotating one end of the chute about a second axis of rotationperpendicular to the first axis of rotation. After the position of thechute has been changed, the process between steps 106 and 110 isrepeated until all desired positions of the chute have been used 112.For example, if there are four positions of the chute to be used, aftermoving the chute from the first position to the second position, steps106 through 110 will be repeated when moving from the second position tothe third position and the third position to the fourth position. Afterthe final position, e.g., a fifth position in five position operation,the system will determine whether another hopper needs to be filled atstep 114.

If there are no additional hoppers, the cycle is ended at step 116. Ifthere are additional hoppers, a new cycle is commenced and the firststep is positioning the conveyor of the grain cart in the center of thesecond hopper length-wise at step 120. The cycle then follows the samesteps discussed above with respect to controlling the position of thechute based on weight 122, 124, 126 and 128, i.e., monitoring the weightunloaded, determining if a target weight has been reached, changing thechute position to a next position, and repeating the steps until alldesired chute positions have been used. The above method may becontrolled by software or firmware instructions running on a controlsystem or node on the grain cart, the tractor, and/or on a portable orhandheld controller. The control system may include one or more computerprocessors or microcontrollers and one or more memory devices to storethe software and other data. In an embodiment, the control system is incommunication with sensors (e.g., weight and chute position sensors) andchute control devices (e.g., hydraulic cylinders, linear actuators,belts and pulleys, or servo motors) on the cart.

FIGS. 2-8 illustrate a farm implement including a weight based chutecontrol according to an embodiment of the present invention. A farmimplement 200, such as a grain cart, includes a bin 202, a conveyor 204and a chute 210 coupled to a discharge of the conveyor 208 and may beused to fill containers 300 (such as semi-trailer trucks) with material.In an embodiment, conveyor 204 includes a tubular housing enclosing arotatable auger. *****The bin 202 is configured to store grain, seed orany other pourable or granular material, and the farm implement 200includes a weigh system to determine the weight of the material storedin the bin 202. In an embodiment of the present invention, the bin 202is at least as large as any containers 300 the farm implement 200 fillswith material. The conveyor 204 includes an input 206 configured toreceive material from the bin 202. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the farm implement 200 may include a second conveyor or auger(not shown) at the bottom of the bin 202 and configured to transportmaterial from the bin 202 to the input 206 of the conveyor 204. Theconveyor 204 discharges material from an output 208, and the chute 210is coupled to the output 208 so as to direct the discharged material.The chute 208 includes a body 212 (see FIG. 5) coupled to the output 208at a first end and extending away from a longitudinal axis of theconveyor I1 and an opening 214 (see FIG. 5) at an end of the bodyopposite the first end. As material is discharged from the conveyor 204,the material exits the output 208 and is directed out of the opening 214of the chute 210.

As shown in FIGS. 6-8, the conveyor 204 may be a folding conveyor with alower conveyor portion 500 and an upper conveyor portion 502 pivotablerelative to the lower conveyor portion 500 about a joint assembly 600.The upper conveyor portion 502 may be pivoted between an operatingposition and a stored position in which it may abut rest 602. The angleof the conveyor 204 relative to the ground may be adjusted with one ormore hydraulic cylinders, which allows for the height of the output 208and chute 210 to be adjusted. This is advantageous when fillingcontainers 300 of various heights because it allows the chute 210 to bepositioned very close to the tops of the containers 300.

The containers 300 may be towable containers or hoppers coupled to avehicle, and may include a first container 302 and a second container302. The containers 300 may be oriented along a longitudinal axis I2.The farm implement 200 is preferably positioned such that thelongitudinal axis of the conveyor I1 is approximately perpendicular tothe longitudinal axis of the containers I2 and the conveyor discharge208 is at the approximate center of the container 302 or 304 beingfilled.

In FIG. 2, the chute 210 is illustrated overlayed in a first position P1and a second position P2. The chute 210 is pivotably coupled to theconveyor such that it may pivot about a first axis of rotation betweenat least the first position P1 and second position P2. The first axis ofrotation of the chute 210 may be approximately parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the conveyor I1 such that when the chute 210 pivotsabout the first axis of rotation the body 212 and opening 214 rotateabout the longitudinal axis of the conveyor I1 in a clockwise orcounterclockwise manner. Pivoting the chute 210 about the first axis ofrotation redirects the direction the material is discharged from thechute 210 approximately along the longitudinal axis of the containersI2. For example, in FIGS. 3 and 4, a chute 210 in the first position P1will discharge material towards the front of the container 304, and,when the chute is pivoted clockwise about the first axis of rotation,the direction of the discharge will change from discharging materialtowards the center of the container and then eventually towards the rearof the container 304, such as when the chute 210 is in the secondposition P2. The chute 210 may be positioned to direct the dischargeanywhere along the first axis of rotation, and may have more than twopositions, i.e., the chute 210 may be placed in a third position inwhich the material is discharged towards the center of the container 302or 304 or any other position along the first plane. The chute 210 alsoincludes sensors which detect the position of the chute 210 so that theprocessor may determine which position (e.g., P1 or P2) the chute 210 isin and, when pivoting the chute, if the chute 210 has reached its nextposition. The sensors and the processor that monitors the sensors willbe discussed in further detail below with respect to FIG. 9.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the chute 210 may pivotaround a second axis of rotation that is approximately orthogonal to thefirst axis of rotation, as shown in FIGS. 6-8. Pivoting the chute 210about the second axis of rotation redirects the direction the materialis charged from the chute 210 approximately transverse to thelongitudinal axis of the containers I2, i.e., the direction the materialis discharged from the chute 210 may be moved towards or away from theconveyor 204. FIG. 6 shows the chute 210 overlayed in position A PA andposition B PB in which the discharge is directed closer to the conveyor204 than in position A. The range of motion of the chute 210 along thesecond axis of rotation allows for it to discharge material anywherewithin the depth of the container 302 (i.e., the portion of thecontainer transverse the longitudinal axis), i.e., the chute 210 may bepositioned in more positions than A and B along the second axis ofrotation. The movement of the chute 210 along the first axis of rotationand second axis of rotation should allow the chute 210 to direct thedischarged material to anywhere in a container 302 or 304.

The chute 210 may be moved along the first axis of rotation or thesecond axis of rotation by a hydraulic cylinder 610. The hydrauliccylinder 610 may be controlled remotely by an operator or automaticallyby a node or handheld controller. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the farm implement 200 may include two hydraulic cylinders,and a first hydraulic cylinder is configured to pivot the chute 210about a first axis of rotation and a second hydraulic cylinder isconfigured to pivot the chute 210 about a second axis of rotation. Thehydraulic cylinders may be positioned with a first end attached to theconveyor 204 and a second end attached to chute. The positioning of thehydraulic cylinders may be seen, for example, in Brent Avalanche GrainCarts 96 Series (e.g., Model Nos. 1196, 1396, 1596 and 2096). In anotherembodiment of the present invention, the chutes may be rotated about thefirst axis of rotation or second axis of rotation by any actuationdevice, such as linear motors, hydraulic motors, pulleys and cables,servo motors, pneumatic cylinders, belt and chain drive and gear drive.The hydraulic cylinders, or any other actuation device, may be poweredby the towing implement's power system or by a separate power systemonboard the farm implement. The node may control the power supply to theactuation device to control the position of the chute 210.

In operation, the farm implement 200 is positioned such that theconveyor discharge 208 is over the approximate center of a firstcontainer 302. Preferably, the longitudinal axis of the conveyor I1 isapproximately perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the containerI2. The chute 210 is positioned in a first position P1 and the systemcommences material discharge from the chute 210. The weight dischargedfrom the farm implement 210 is monitored by a weigh system, and, when afirst target weight is reached, the chute 210 is pivoted from the firstposition to a second position P2. The chute 210 may continue todischarge material while pivoting to the second position P2 or thesystem may cease discharging material after the first target weight isreached and restart material discharge after the chute 210 is placed inthe second position P2. The system will monitor the weight of materialdischarged in the second position P2 until a second target weight isreached. If there are more than two positions, e.g., at P1 and P2 thechute 210 is rotated about the second axis of rotation into positions PAand PB, then the system will continue moving the chute 210 into thedesired positions until the target weight is reached for each position.The range of motion of the chute 210 along the first axis of rotation isapproximately 40° to 90°, and the range of motion of the chute along thesecond axis of rotation is approximately the same. Preferably, the chute210 has a range of motion between 50° and 70°, and most preferably 66°to 68°. After the target weight has been reached at all desiredpositions, the farm implement 200 will move to the next container, ifthere is a next container. At the second container 304, the conveyordischarge 208 will again be centered and the process described abovewill be repeated. The system will continue moving to containers andrepeating the chute control process until all of the required containershave been filled.

FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic of a handheld controller 900 configuredto control the chute control system in an alternative embodiment of thepresent invention and the inputs and outputs of the controller 900.Preferably, the weight based chute control is performed by a node on thefarm implement or towing implement. The node may be an electroniccontrol unit embedded on the farm implement which includes at least aprocessor, memory and inputs and outputs to communicate with the variouscomponents and systems on the farm implement (e.g., sensors, actuationdevices, power supply systems). However, in an embodiment of the presentinvention, a handheld controller may be used. Handheld controller 900may include a computer processor, memory, communication ports (e.g.,inputs and outputs), and optional data storage. Optionally, it couldhave wireless communication components, e.g., a transducer for receivingand transmitting data wirelessly via known protocols, for example bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The controller 900 is discussed in further detail belowwith reference to FIG. 10 and in co-owned and co-pending applicationsentitled “Handheld Control Device for Controlling Mobile FarmImplement,” U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/799,957, filed onMar. 15, 2013, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/821,542,filed on May 9, 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference. The farm implement 200 (or the controller 900) mayinclude an operator interface 902 which allows an operator to inputcommands or information and includes a display in which the processormay display messages to the operator. The operator may input informationsuch as target weights for each position or the number of containerswhich the farm implement 200 will be servicing. The display may presentinformation such as which position the chute 210 is in or how muchweight has been discharged overall, in a container or in a particularposition. The controller 900 received information regarding the weightand the position of the chute from various sensors. For example, thecontroller 900 may receive information regarding the weight from a weighsensor, such as a scale, monitoring the weight of the bin 202 andinformation regarding the position of the chute 210 from chute sensors.The controller 900 controls the conveyor 204 and the chute 210, i.e.,the processor may turn the conveyor 204 on or off and may adjust theposition of the chute 210. For example, the controller 900 may adjustthe position of the chute 210 by outputting electric signals to a valve(commonly referred to as electric over hydraulic) to control thehydraulic flow to the hydraulic cylinders 610 coupled to the chutes. Theinformation received from the sensors 902 is used by the controller 900to determine which commands to send to the conveyor 204 and chute 210,such as shutting the container door.

FIG. 10 illustrates an environment in which a controller 900 interactswith mobile farm implements, such as a grain cart 1300 or a tractor 1200towing the grain cart, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. According to one aspect of the invention, the system providesa controller that may automate at least part of an unloading ofagricultural material from a mobile farm implement. The automation mayinclude issuing commands to the mobile farm implement in a desired orderand may include automatically monitoring unloading conditions. Accordingto another aspect of the invention, the system provides a controllerthat is able to communicate with multiple mobile farm implements usingdifferent communication protocols. For example, the control device maycommunicate with one mobile farm implement using an ISO 11783 (i.e.,Isobus) protocol and may communicate with another mobile farm implementusing an ISO 11898 (i.e., CANbus) protocol. According to yet anotheraspect of the invention, the controller is a handheld control devicethat may wirelessly collect sensor data from a mobile farm implementwhile the control device is located outside the mobile farm implement.For example, a driver in a harvester may wirelessly collect sensor datafrom a grain cart that is being loaded by the harvester.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10, the controller 900 may be ahandheld computing device, such as a smart phone or a tablet, and maycommunicate directly with the grain cart 1300, or may do so throughanother mobile farm implement, such as the tractor 1200. For example,the handheld control device 100 and the grain cart 1300 may communicatedirectly via a USB or IEEE 802.11 (Wi-FI) or other interface, or thegrain cart 1300 may have no USB or IEEE 802.11 capability and rely onthe tractor 1200 to provide such capabilities to communicate with thecontrol device 1100.

The controller 900 may be a mobile phone (e.g., iPhone®), a tabletcomputer (e.g., iPad®), or any other handheld control device. Thecontroller 900 may include a transceiver 1101 for communicating with amobile farm implement, a display 1104 and auxiliary input device 1105(e.g., a keyboard) for communicating with a user of the controller 900;a processor 1103 and memory 1107 for executing modules that implementvarious functionality of the control device; and a storage device 1106for storing data, instructions, and other information. In an embodiment,the modules may include an operating system 1110 (e.g., iOS®) thatprovides a platform on which another module, such as control module1120, executes. For example, the operating system 1110 may allow thecontrol module 1120 to be downloaded as an application and to execute onthe controller 900. In an embodiment, the memory 1107 may providetemporary storage for the modules while they are being executed, whilethe storage device 1106 may provide long-term, non-volatile storage forthe modules. The components of the controller 900 may be located insidea housing of the device, or may be externally attached to the housing ofthe controller 900.

Mobile farm implements such as the tractor 1200 and the grain cart 1300may interact with the controller 900 by, for instance, sending sensorinformation to the controller 900 or executing commands received fromthe controller 900. For example, the grain cart 1300 may provideinformation about a container 1301, a conveyor belt 1302, or an auger1303, and may execute commands related to these components.

For the container 1301, a load cell sensor 1310 may measure a weight orvolume of agricultural material held by the container 1301, while acontainer door controller 320 may be configured to open or close a doorof the container 1301.

For the conveyor belt 1302, a conveyor belt sensor 1312 may measure abelt speed of the conveyor belt 1302, while a conveyor belt controller1321 may control the belt speed, tension, or any other property of theconveyor belt 1302.

For the auger 1303, an auger sensor 1314 may measure a position orrotational speed of the auger 1303 or the chute 210, while an auger armcontroller 1322 or a conveyor spout controller 1323 may control movementof the conveyor arm or conveyor spout, respectively. If either theconveyor belt 1302 or the auger 1303 is actuated by another power sourcesuch as a power takeoff, then a power takeoff sensor 1313 may measurethe rotational speed of the power takeoff (e.g., the PTO RPM).

The tractor 1200 may, in an embodiment, likewise have a sensor 1201 formeasuring a property of the tractor 1200, such as speed of a powertakeoff or an Implement Input Shaft (IIS) or Implement Input Driveline(IID) 1211 used to provide actuation power to the grain cart 1300. In anembodiment, it may have a controller 1205 for controlling a component(e.g., steering component, transmission component, etc.) on the tractor.

FIG. 11 illustrates a method 5000 that may automatically move a chutebeing used in unloading a mobile farm implement. The method 5000 may beused for a chute mounted to a discharge of an conveyor and rotatableabout at least one axis of rotation. The movement of the chute may, forexample, facilitate an even distribution of agricultural material acrossthe hopper. In an embodiment, the method 5000 may rely on accessingmovement data recorded from previous unload operations, as discussed infurther detail below with respect to FIG. 12. In the embodiment, thereplay method 5000 may replay the recorded movements as a function of ameasured weight from a hopper being unloaded, measured weight of ahopper into which the chute is unloading material or as a function oftime.

Operations 5010 through 5040 involve preparing the chute to enter acontrol mode, which then automates movement of the chute. Operations5010 through 5040 moves the chute into a start position and activatesthe control mode. In an embodiment, if the control mode relies onpreviously recorded movements of a chute, the start position of thechute in the control mode may match a start position of a chute in alearn mode.

During the control mode, a determination may be made periodically atoperation 5050 as to whether a manual input is received. A manual inputmay terminate the automation in the control mode (operation 5060). If nomanual input is received, the control mode will monitor the weight ofthe hopper to determine if the maximum weight of the hopper has beenreached at operation 5070. If the hopper weight has not been reached,the system may move the chute based on a threshold weight is reached atoperation 5080. For example, the control mode determines whether thehopper has reached a weight that would trigger another incrementalmovement of the chute. In response to determining that the hopper hasreached that weight, the control mode moves the chute by an incrementalamount at operation 5090. The chute may have a plurality of positions itwill move through while loading a hopper, e.g., a left position, acenter position and a right position. In an embodiment of the presentinvention, the chute can move in at least two planes, and the system maymove the chute through positions in both planes, e.g., front left, backleft, front center, back center, front right and back right. At variousperiods, such as after each incremental movement, the control mode maydetermine at operation 5070 whether the hopper weight (e.g., maximumweight) has been reached. If the hopper weight has been reached, thecontrol mode terminates unloading of material into the hopper.

At an operation 5100, a determination is made as to whether there isanother hopper into which material can be unloaded. If there is not, theunload cycle is terminated at operation 5110. Otherwise, the controlmode may automate another series of incremental movements of the chuteat operations 5120 through 5190. Operations 5120 through 5190 aresubstantially similar to operations 5050 through 5090. In an embodimentof the present invention, a controller or node may run the unload method5000. The controller may be a handheld device 900 (as discussed above),incorporated into an existing controller on the farm implement ortractor, or it may be a separate unit specifically designed for thisoperation.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating a method 4500 of unloading a mobilefarm implement by controlling the position of a chute dischargingmaterial into a container, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. The method 4500 involves a learn mode function that storeschute positions during unloading of the implement. The stored positionsmay later be used to automate movement of the chute during unloading,such as the chute control operation detailed above with reference toFIG. 11. The learn mode function may be implemented on the node mountedon the tractor 200 or the grain cart 300. In an alternative embodiment,the learn mode function may be implements on a handheld controller, suchas control device 900 or a separate control device dedicated to thelearn mode.

Operations 4510 to operations 4550 involve moving the chute to a startposition. The chute may be located at an end of an conveyor, and may bemoved in part by moving the conveyor (operation 4510), such aspositioning the conveyor over a first hopper. Once an conveyor isplaced, the chute may be moved to a start position, such as a center ora side of the hopper (operation 4520). The learn mode function may beenabled, a weight of the hopper being unloaded or of the mobile farmimplement into which the chute is discharging material may be recorded(operations 4530 and 4540), and an unload cycle may be started(operation 4550). Operations 4510-4550 may be manual or automatic.

At an operation 4560, a start position of the chute may be recorded. Inan embodiment, the start position may be the position of the chuterelative to the conveyor or relative to the hopper into which materialis being unloaded.

As the hopper begins to be filled, the chute may be moved. At anoperation 4570, a determination is made as to whether the hopper weighthas changed. If the weight has changed, the method 4500 observes atoperation 4590 whether the chute position has changed. The operation maythus learn whether an operator of the mobile farm implement has movedthe chute as the hopper is being filled, and may learn a direction oramount of such movement. At an operation 4600, the chute positionrelative to the recorded weight is recorded if the position of the chutehas changed. Operations 4590 to 4600 may thus record how an operatormoves the chute as a function of hopper weight during unloading ofmaterial into the hopper. Such recorded movement may later be replayedto automate movement of the chute.

Once a target weight of the hopper being filled is reached (4580), thevarious positions of the chute relative to the weight is recorded 4610and the cycle is ended and saved for the first hopper 4620. The learnmode operation 4500 may include a step of identifying the hopper beingfilled, e.g., an identification code for particular hopper volumes orhopper shapes. The user may manually enter this code or the hopper mayidentify itself (e.g., make and/or model of hopper) by sending a signalto the indicator or controller running the learn mode.

At an operation 4630, a determination may be made as to whether there isanother hopper which needs to be loaded by the chute. If there is noother hopper, the unload cycle is terminated at operation 4640. If thereis another hopper, another chute learn mode is carried out at operations4650 through 4710. The operations are substantially similar tooperations 4560 through 4610. At an operation 4720, which assumes thatno more than two hoppers are being filled, the unload cycle isterminated. In an embodiment of the present invention, there may be morethan two hoppers filled and recorded by the learn mode. In an embodimentof the present invention, a controller or indicator may run the learnmode. The controller may be a node on the grain cart, a handheld device900 (as discussed above), incorporated into an existing controller onthe farm implement or tractor, or it may be a separate unit specificallydesigned for this operation.

From the above it will be appreciated that the weight-based chutecontrol of the present invention allows a chute discharging material tobe controlled such that a container receiving the material is evenlyfilled. It will also be appreciated that various changes can be made tothe system without departing from the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims. For example, the processor may display an alarm when a targetweight is reached and an operator may manually adjust the position ofchute. In addition, the chute may be rotated by one or more servomotorsand the processor may control it with an electrical signal.Additionally, the weight discharged may be determined by measuring thetime of discharge and assuming a constant rate of weight discharged,which would allow farm implements without a weight sensor to use thepresent invention. Also, the system may be able to resume a cycle at acontainer if the grain cart runs out of material before the container isfull. Additionally, the system may move the chute based on time andcontrolled hydraulic flow rather than relying on the sensors to move thechute between positions. These and other modifications are intended tobe encompassed by the appended claims.

1-7. (canceled)
 8. An apparatus for conveying material from a farmimplement into a container, comprising: a bin for holding anagricultural material; a conveyor including a first end configured toreceive material from said bin and a second end configured to dischargematerial; and a chute including a first end pivotably coupled to thesecond end of the conveyor and a second end configured to dischargematerial, wherein the first end of the chute is pivotable relative tothe second end of the conveyor about a first axis of rotation such thatthe second end of the chute is moveable in a first plane; a chutepositioning device for pivoting said chute about said first axis; aweight sensor for measurement of a weight of the material in said binand providing a weight sensor output indicative of the weightmeasurement; a position sensor for detecting a position of the chute andproviding a position sensor output indicative of the chute position; adisplay coupled to a processor; and a controller in communication withsaid weight sensor output, said position sensor output, and saiddisplay, wherein the processor is configured to allow an operator toinput commands and to display messages to the operator using an operatorinterface.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said controller isconfigured to: send a control signal to said chute positioning device topivot said chute in a first direction about said first axis of rotationinto a first position; send a control signal to said conveyor to causematerial from said container to be discharged from said chute; and whenthe weight measurement meets a predefined threshold, send a controlsignal to said chute positioning device to pivot said chute in a seconddirection different than said first direction about said first axis ofrotation into a second position.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8, whereinsaid controller is located on the farm implement.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 8, wherein said controller is portable.
 12. The apparatus of claim8, wherein said controller is handheld.
 13. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein a first range of motion of said chute along said first axis ofrotation is from 40° to 90° and a second range of motion of said chutealong said second axis of rotation is from 40° to 90°.
 14. The apparatusof claim 13, wherein said first and second ranges of motion are from 50°to 70°.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said first and secondranges of motion are from 66° to 68°.
 16. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein said processor is further configured to: present, on thedisplay, a current position of the chute; present, on the display, acurrent weight of material in said bin; and present, on the display, anamount of material discharged during a current unload process.
 17. Theapparatus of claim 8, wherein said weight sensor is a load cell sensor.18. A method for learning chute positions during an unload process of afarm implement, the farm implement including a bin for holdingagricultural material and a conveyor with a chute at one end fordischarging said agricultural material from the bin into a container,the method comprising: moving the chute to a start position; detectingthe selection of a learn mode function; prior to unloading, recording aweight of the agricultural material stored within the bin; starting theunload process; upon starting the unload process, recording the chutestart position; during the unload process, performing the following twosteps until completion of the unload process: detecting a change inweight of the agricultural material stored within the bin and a changein position of the chute relative to the bin or container; and inresponse to detecting the change in weight of the agricultural materialstored within the bin and the change in position of the chute relativeto the bin or container, recording the change in position together withan amount of material discharged during the current unload cycle whichis determined from the detected change in weight; and upon completion ofthe unload process, saving the recorded chute start position and each ofthe recorded changes in position together with the amount of materialdischarged during the current unload cycle as a chute cycle program. 19.The method of claim 18, further comprising recording and saving with thechute cycle program an identification code for the container beingfilled.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the identification codeincludes make, model, volume, and/or shape of the container beingfilled.
 21. The method of claim 18, further comprising: determining thatthere is a second container that needs to be filled by the chute;determining that the second container can be filled by the stored chutecycle program; executing the stored chute cycle program to fill thesecond container, wherein executing the stored chute cycle programincludes moving the chute to the chute start position and replaying thechanges in position of the chute when the amount of material dischargedduring the current unload cycle matches the corresponding amount savedin the chute cycle program for the change in position.